DotNetNuke Hackathon: Challenge Your Inner DNN Developer

There are many reasons to build a DotNetNuke® module. You might need to satisfy a business need. Perhaps you need to rewrite an existing or open source module. There could be an application that you’re porting over to DNN from your own custom solution. Maybe even, it’s just a project at work… That’s all well and good, but have you ever built a DNN module to win prizes??? You will have your chance next week!

That’s right, true believers, you can build a simple DotNetNuke®, and possibly win a fantastic prize for it. Did I say a fantastic prize? Yep. I mean it. How does a Dell Vostro 3500 laptop sound? This is the grand prize for the hackathon, and anyone can win it, or one of two netbooks. That’s not even the best part of it… You will be given specs to the module you’re to develop! Whaaa…? You don’t even need to think – just code!

The Orlando DotNetNuke® Users Group (ODUG) has the honor of holding the first ever hackathon! A hackathon is a developer event with a goal of increasing developer knowledge on a specific technology aspect in a casual, collaborative environment. Hackathons are also designed to encourage participation by people who are not familiar with the technology, basically providing them with an immersive quick-start. This is very important on the DNN topic, since not everyone has the same learning curve when it comes to developing for the DotNetNuke® web application framework.

That means that events like these are for EVERYONE! I hope this excites you, because it excites me, but it has also inspired the leader of the Orlando .Net User Group (ONETUG) to hold their user group meeting in conjunction with the ODUG. So, on May 4th, all newcomers and members of the ODUG and ONETUG are invited to join the rest of us at Orlando City Hall at 6:30 PM EST to inaugurate this incredible event!

About Our Speaker

Our guest speaker this month is Nik Kalyani, one of the co-founders of the DotNetNuke® Corporation. Nik is flying in to us from silicon valley to review the fundamentals of using MVP patterns in DNN development. Nik is a tried and true, seasoned veteran in software and technology, having been doing this for over 18 years. Nik is also one of my featured bloggers! He has since created yet another start-up, this one being HyperCrunch, an IT strategy and innovation consulting company.

Here’s what will happen…

There will be a large handful of project files including Balsamic mock-ups for you to choose from upon entering the event. Our guest speaker, Nik Kalyani, will be talking to us about how to use the MVP pattern in DNN module development. His presentation will be showing us exactly what we need to do in order to create our own hackathon submissions. During or after Nik’s presentation, all attendees are encouraged to work on their MVP pattern modules using the specs given to them.

Within 24 hours, all hackathon participants who wish to win one of the grand prizes will be required to submit their DNN module within 24 hours of the event – this being 6:30 PM EST on May 5th. For the next 48 hours following that, all participants and attendees will vote for their favorite entries, which will eventually help to determine the winners of the grand prizes! There will also be other door prizes and consolation prizes from both the hackathon and the user groups.

Be prepared to learn and use ASP.Net, VB, C#, jQuery, JavaScript, CSS, and more… You haven’t ever developed a DNN module? Not a problem! It’ll be easy with the templates provided, and there will be plenty of help on-hand for you. Not to mention, all of the techniques used to build modules for DNN are used for any ASP.Net website.

Featured Sponsor

This is perhaps one of the biggest, if not the biggest and most influential user group meeting in the state of Florida – ever! There are two things that made this possible. First, our speaker and his company, HyperCrunch. HyperCrunch is responsible for the expenses of getting Nik Kalyani out to us. Second, and perhaps more importantly, our featured sponsor, PowerDNN. PowerDNN is a complete web hosting provider, and the largest and most reliable host when it comes to DotNetNuke®. The good folks at PowerDNN have really outdone themselves in sponsoring this event – so please make sure you show them some love!